Safety tread



May 19, 1936.

E. VAN DER PYL SAFETY TREAD Filed Sepfh. 5, 1933 3MNIYM 7 EDWARD VAN DER PYL.

Patented May 19, 1936 PATENT OFFICE Edward Van der Pyl, Holden, Mass., asslgnor to Norton Company, Worcuter, Mass., a corpora tion of Massachusetts Application September 5, 1933, Serlal N0. 688,106

2 Claims.

This invention relates to safety treads, and more particularly to a non-slip, wear-resistent, hard rubber treacl and to a method of maklng the same.

Heretofore, tread blocks and tlles which were made by embedding in a body of cement, abrasive aggregates composed of'crystalline alumina granules bonded by a vitrifiecl ceramic material, have been employed extensively as an anti-sllpping flooring or a safety tread. Such cement treads are ordinarily hard and brittle, due to their stone-like nature, and must; be mounted to 11e perfectly flat on the supporting surface, so that lt has been found diflicult to satisfactorily mount them on some types of flooring. Thls is particularly the case when the tiles are used as a supplemental covering over a flooring havlng an irregular surface, such as an old wooden or iron stair which has become worn to an irregular and neu-plane top surface and the tlles do not rest evenly thereon, but become broken or cracked and loosen from thelr support because of the unequal distribution 'of the shocks and strains 01 traflic.

Rubber tread compositions contalning abrasive materlal have also been proposed heretofore, and one form of such a tread has comprised a body of resilient and flexible rubber havlng anti-S111)- ping chips incorporated in its surface. Trends of this material are capab1e 015 providing an elastic, resilient cushion to absorb the shocks o! pedestrian trafl1c when la.ld in places where the wear conditions are severe. Such a trea.d may be attached to a worn-out flooring, such as a stair which has an uneven surface, and will bend and otherwlse conform to the extreme irregularlties in its supporting surface.

Another proposed form 01 rubber trea'd coustruction has comprised a flexible rubber body containing abrasive grains embedded in the upper surface portion in which the tread ls mounted in place and vulcanized to its ultimate support. When small, indlvidual abrasive gralns are used in a structure of this type, the rubber bond necessarily forms a comparatlvelylarge portlon of the tread surface and so is considerably exposed on the surface of ehe tread and subjected to wear. Furthermore, the rubber is not in ltself a hard bonding substance and (10% not malte lntimate contact with the very sma.ll gralns as will hold them permanently in place. Henne, when subjected 30 the shocks of trafilc and ehe abrasions of pedestrian wear, the elastic rubber yields under thi s strain, thereby permittingthe gralns to be tom from the surface and exposes furthe; rubber and. gralns to simllar disintegrating action. As a result, a tread made of lndividual abraslve grains bonded in flexible, vulcanized rubber has a short life and soon becomes slippery aifter a short period cf wear, and lt is otherwise unsatisfactory when subjected to the severe stresses of ordinary pedestrian trafllc. Such a tread ls also undesirable, sirice it is flxedly secured to the supporting structure by vulcanization and so is not readlly removable when worn out for the substitution cf a new safety appliance.

It is accordingly the primary object 01 thls invention to provlde an improved safety tread 01 the replacement type which is highly anti-slipplng and wear-resistent, and particularly a nonslip floor or stair t1le which possesses the above desirable characteristics and which may be employed as an antl-slipping, wear-reslstlng tread. surface in positions where the wear or the shocks of traflic are high, in which the rubber bond is hard and rigid but yet the tread may be flexed sufllciently to contorm to the character of the supporting surface and be removably fastened in place thereto.

Further objects will 'be readily apparent in the following disclosure.

' one embodlment of my lnventlon ls lllustrai;ed in the accompanying drawlng, in which:

Fig. 1 is a. fragmentary perspectlve view showing details 01 construction 013 a stair tread, with certain portions partly broken away for the purpose 015 clearness; and

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, illustratlng diagrammatically one manner' ot molding a. stair tread .embodying the inventlon.

In accordance with my inventionl have provided a. tread partlcularly adapted Ior stairs and floors which comprlses a body portion 01 hard, tough, completely vulcanized rubber, such es ls known under the trade name of Vulcanite" which ha.s a tread surface and. a freut nose portion containlng hard, wear-reslsting, anti-slipping aggregates incorporated thereln, such a.s chips of bonded abrasive gralns. In practlce, I preferably employ chips of ceramic b0nded abrasive granules, such es described in the patent to Jeppson N0. 1,371683 015 March 15, 1921, and which conslst 01 an abraslrre material of great hardness and high abraslve characberistics, such as crystalline alumina, silloon carbide, emery, corundum or other substanc preferably harder than quartz and bonded by a. vitrifled eeramic material into' an integral muss.

In order to malte an anti-slipplng tread o1 tile, I lncorporate these chips in a plastlc muss 01 rubber compound capable 01 being vulcanized and converted to a hard, rigid, tough, non-yieid- Ing, non-plastic und nun-flexible body which is capable of holding the abrasive aggregates firmly in place almost indefinitely under the impact o1 ordinary pedestrian wea.r without permitting movement of the chips within the supporting body, yet is sufllciently resilient to withstand the shocks of usage without breaking When mounted on a worn-out, irregular flooring, or in places, such a.s a street car step where lt repeatedly receives blows, and not be broken or cracked by undue stresses applied to lt by the impacts of pedestrlan trafllc. The abrasive aggregates are uniformly distributed and form the m'ajor portion of the trea.d surface or such a proportion 015 the tread area that they will receive substantially all of the frictional wear and so provide a permanently weaxq-reslsting, anti-slipping surface, and they are securely anch0red in the ha.rd rubber bonding material throughout the wearing surface 01 the tread which continues around the nosing edge. The rubber bonding composition employed should contain the maximum sulfur and be so treated a.s 1:0 form a, hard completely vulcanized rubber and not a, partially vulcanized, soft, flexible, resilient rubber which' whara.eterizes a. partially and incompletely vuly canized rubber composition.

. backing I0 made 01 hard, complebely vulcanized rubber, which may be of any suita.ble shape, but preferably as a. flat platze or tile having a. rectangular, flat, level top surface layer II flnished in either a plain or colored appearance with anti-slipping abrasive chips or aggregates I2 interspersed und embedded therein to provide an anti-slipping surfacing for pedestrian traflic. The chips I2 are embedded and spaced close enough in the facing II to take all 01 the pedestrian wea.r, und they are provided With substantially flat faces I3 so as to Iorm a durable, wear-resisting, plane tread surface which is sontinuous with the flat top surface I I 01 the tread lind oflers no obstruction to foot' gear to cause tripping. It the tread is 1:0 serve as a. stair nosing, the upper traut corner 013 the block or tile Where the foot pivots in going down the stairs a.nd where wear Is mesh 1Ikely to occur 1's curved to l'orm a. rounded nose I5 having the abrasive aggregates I2 incorporated therein, whlch servesto enable the nose 015 the tread to resls't wea.r and to safeguard the downgoing pedestrlan trafflc. Also, the chips are;lzhickly placed so es to occupy the major portion 01 Ehe volume o! the upper part 015 the tread in order that the rubber matrix may not be largely exposed to the abrasion 01 footwear. These chips I2 a.re of irregular shape ar'xd are shown as scattered throughout the top layer 01 the tread, preferably without referenceto any design, although they may be Iormed in regular sha.peand pla.ced in suita.b1e pattern, 11 so desired. Because 01 their pures und rough, irregular surfaces, the abrasive chips further serve to reinforce i:he rubber matrix und give additional strength and homogeneity to the molded article, besides enhancing its shock-resisting properties und yielding a. hard, streng product. While various sizes of the abrasive chips ma.y be utilized which are selected a.nd graded according to the purposes desired. I preferably use chips which sre screened und sized to ordinarily pass throush a screen having six meshes to the linear lnch und yet be reta.ined

by one having eight meshes to the linear inch. The abrasive aggregates are ordinarily composed 015 from 55 to 75% of'alumlnum oxide abrasive' trix consisting of rubber, sulfur, a vulcanizationaccelerator, with or without suitable coloring pigments and flllers, a.nd may be compounded and proportion'ed in accordance with standard knowledge in the art to obtain a, composition which will mature to a hard, dense, completely vulcanized hard rubber of thetype known as Vulcanite. It; is desirable, but not necessary, that; such a. tread have a. modulus of rupt.ure not less than 10,000 lbs. per sq. in. und a modulus of elasticity not mo1e than 260,000 lbs. per sq. in. as determined from bending tests of samp1es..18"x.35"x3.5".

In order to reinforce the tread body against breakage, I place or embed a) reinforcement withiri the backing I0, and preferably use a, perforated or reticulated metal reinforcement, such a.s a heavy woven wire screen IG of open mesh,

thfough which screws or bolts may be passed' for rembvably fastening the tread to a. supporting surface. The perforations and open mesh cf the woven reinforcement also serve to permit the backingmaterial to flow through them while the tread is being manufa.ctured. It be understood that various constructions m be employed for this open-meshed or reticulateii reinforcement in order to strengthen and rein-j force the tread member. The tread should also be of sufllcient thickness to resist fracture in service. II: will be apparent that the treads may be rnade in suitable lengths und widths to fit the p-articular requirements of use.

When colors are used, the face or tread portion II may coniprise an Initial layer made up of a,

-blastic sheet 01 uncured rubber compound of the desired color in which are embedded the antislipping chips I2, the sheet being made long to provide the ends I'l und I0 respe itively which are turned or folded over the front am! rear ends manufacturing this tread, such es is illustrated in Fig. 2, the molding apparatus may comprise a sultable mold casing 20 and the top pressure mem ber 2I. The abrasive chips I2 ire flrst mounted upon paper or other suitable flexible backing ms.- terial 25, as by means o! glue or other adhesive substance, the chips being secured to the backing material by the faces I3 whlch constitute the tread portion thereof. The sheel: ca.rrying the mounted chips is then placed with the abrasive side 1'ace up in the mold casing 20. A plastic sheet or strip o1 uncured, vulcanizable rubber compound II, either plain or colored. und containing the proper proportions 015 rubber, sulfur, vulcaniza- {material formlng the noslng edge dlsposed as shown in dotted outllne in the drawlng. The reini'orclng screen I6 is then lald on top 015 this layer 01 raw rubber, after which a backing layer III comprising a second strlp 013 uncured, vulcanizable rubber o! the same compositlon as the flrst strip, but preferably o! p1ain uncolored material, 1s applied thereover. II the tread 1s to be a. C01- ored product, the next step is to 1'01d or bend the ends I'l and I8 backwards over the adjacent ends 01 the backing layer I0. The materlals in the mold are then heated and pressure ls applled, in accordance with the standard practlce, so as to shape und. eure the rubber muss to the contour o1 the mold and thus Iorm the final tread member 01 hard, vulcanized rubber, as shown in dotand-dash outline in Fig. 2. vThe treacl may then be removed Irom th'e mold and placed between sultable plates, in order that it may keep fla.t and hold its shape whlle cooling. The paper backing 25 on wh1ch the abrasive chips were inltially mounted is then removed in any suitable manner, fitter which the upper tread surface is cleaned to remove the glue or other adhesive employed to secure the aggregates to the backing. By mounting the layex: o! abrasive chips on the backing 25, the chips do not become completely embedded und. covered by the rubber when the mass 1s molded, but have their top tread faces I3 protected so that they become exposed when the backlng 25 1s stripped theretrom.

The tread s may be molded to the required dimenslons or they may be cut to the deslred s1ze und length, as by a grlnding wheel. The mounting ho1es 26 may be tormed in the tread durlng the molding operation or they may be drilled in the molded artlcle to sult the Installation requirements !or appllcatlon to the sta.ir or fluoring beneath. The holes 26 may be sultably shaped or countersunk to receive the head portion 013 the fastening scr ews or bo1ts employed.

It will, thereiore, be seen that a satety tread made in accordance with this lnvention has a neat and attractive a'ppearance and ls hlghly non-sllp on the enti re tread surtace including the nosing edge'to provide a flrm and permanent grip on the Iootgear. 'I'his new tread 13 extremely resistant to wear and is partlcularly adapted where'pedestrian trafflc is extremely severe. It is sultable Ior outdoor use in exposed locations where lt permanently maintains lts anti-slipping properties when wet and is unafl'ected by the weather. Such a tread is easily appllcable to any exlstlng sta1r coustructions consisting of wood, steel. concrete or 5 stone and can be instailed quick1y to thesupport- Ing surface. The entire wldth 01 the stair may be covered by the tread unit, o1 112 may be applled as a noslng on the outer edge 01 the stair. In the latter case, the area of the stair d1rectly back 01 the safety tread may be fllled with a suitable strip of linoleum, rubber tiling, wood or other suitable material to prevent hee1 catching. Various modificatlons of this invention W111 be apparent and it 1s lntended that such shall be covered by my invention w1thin the scope o1! the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my inventlon, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety tread tile comprising a backing 01 completely vulcanlzed rubber in a. hard, rigid, non-yielding, neu-flexible condition; yet capable 01 beim; sufilclently resilient to withstand the shocks and stresses of pedestrian trafllc, and an anti-slipping surface 1ayer cf hard rubber vulcanlzed to a hard, rigid condition a.nd shaped to provide a plane tread surtace am! a crVed nosing, both 01 which contain aggregates 02 abrasive grains bonded by a cerami c bonding material embedded In and constltuting such p01 tion 015 said surface 1ayer as to form the major portion thereo! and recelve substantially all of the pedestrian wear, ancl an open mesh metal relnforcement embedded in and adapted to strengthen the tread sald t1le having a pefforationtherethrough for a fastening device.

2. A rubber bonded safety tread comprising a molded body 01 hard completely vulcanized rubber having a substantially plane upper tread sur- 1'ace and a rigid, curved, dependlng front nose port1on, and anti slipplng aggregates 01 bonded abras1ve gralns embedded in the top surface o! the body und nosing havlng their top face portions exposed and' coextensive with sa1d surface and constltuting the major portlon thereof so as to recelve substantially all of the pedestrlan wear, said rubber body comprising a rubber backlng layer and an upper rubber tacing layer contalnlng the abrasive aggregates whlch is integrally united thereto, and an open mesh reinforcement gr1d interposed between said layers und embedded in the molded rubber mass, sald top anti-sllpping tread 1ayer being folded around and under the backing Iayer at the nose portlon o! the tread body, whereby the non-abraslve rubber backing is concealed by the top tacing and nosing layer' contalnlng the anti-slipph'1g abraslve matrial when the tread. is in place on a stair.

EDWARD VAN um PYL. 

